This might be fun if I can keep consistent. I’ve always wanted a time lapse movie of my painting process, but I was never disciplined about taking the pics. We’ll see how I do.
So here it is in-process: Number 3, Chicago. This would probably be cooler if I weren’t standing there muckin’ up the shot.
The embedded video quality wasn’t great so here’s the link.
Cheers
R
“Time is an illusion. Lunch time doubly so”
I know I quote Douglas Adams a lot, but he had such a way of delivering simple, everyday things to you in a manner that made you rethink them.
Like the relativity of time.
I’m not talking about Einstein. I’m talking about how time is relative to your amount of engagement in any certain activity. Ask any child who’s been out playing with friends or is wrapped up in a video game and you’ll invariably get a level of perceived time dilation rivaling the event horizon of a black hole. My son will play a game for an hour (max) and will swear that he’s only been at it for “five whole minutes, Dad. Jeesh”.
He actually makes a sound like “jeesh” more than he actually says it.
Time flies when you’re having fun. And even when you’re not. I’ve recently gone from knee deep to eyeball deep in an IT project for my day job. Embroiled is a good word I think. It’s an enormous amount of pressure that sprung up from a rather unexpected angle. It’s funny tho. How time flies and slows down all at once when you’re in a crisis mode. Things are flying by at a daunting pace and yet somehow it all passed by you like bullets in The Matrix.
I don’t necessarily dodge them like Neo however. That’s how it is when you’re not protected by script immunity. It’s a level of engagement that I haven’t had in a while. It’s hectic and time is flying, but in a perverse way it’s fun sometimes.
Not all the time. 
That’s come along with a lot of work on the current projects. There’s a soft deadline looming, but the time dilation’s kicked in and I’m starting to envision the pieces in a different way. I’ve gotten more engaged in them. I’ve put down some underpainting on two and am starting to work on the successive layers. I’m heading down there in a little bit actually. I’m working in an every-other-night rotation in different areas of each piece. As soon as I get the next image green-lighted I’ll start putting down pencil and will begin canvas number three, Chicago or Toronto. I’m sure at some point I’ll be working on them all at once.
Here’s where the fun part comes in. Looks like I’ll be going to Dublin and London to get photos for myself. I’m really looking forward to it. I haven’t been to London since I was a teenager and I’ve never been to Dublin, but have always wanted to go. Simply put…. Fanf@ckingtastic.
Hey, this is a family show.
I plan on taking about a bazillion pics and touring the Jameson distillery.
And NOT kissing the Blarney Stone.
If you live in either of those places and want to get together for a meal or a pint keep your eyes peeled. I’ll be posting pics the entire time.
Cheers,
R
Every time you think you know yourself you go and do something that surprises you. I’ve done that a few times recently. A complete change of scenery can do that to you. A couple of the things were good. One of them wasn’t so much. That’s how it is though and you learn and you move on. Hopefully you take something from it. In this case, I’m thankful to say, I did. More proof that at nearly 40 you’re still a work in progress.
Becoming involved in a large-scale Art project like the new Aviva building in West Des Moines was a bit step towards changing the way I look at Art. I’d become so used to my way of doing things that getting involved in someone else’s process was an eye opener. Especially when those people are imagining projects on a fairly massive scale. The coordination of industrial processes can be an exercise in project management. I was very glad for the opportunity to get to pick these artists’ brains on how it all goes together. I’ll post some links as things develop.
I’m also working on a series of pieces for the same project so I’m seeing it from both sides. My project has me paired up with the Artist team of Andrea Myklebust and Stanton Sears who’ve got a resume full of sizable projects such as this. I’d better bring my A-game. I’m looking forward to further collaboration with them on this one. Right now we’re working more or less independently, but there are decisions to be made regarding palette, etc. Size and subject matter are already solid. I’m doing developmental charcoal sketches to tweak composition. My apologies for the awful pics. I’ll post some better ones later.
This has led me to throw my hat in the ring for some public Art projects that have cropped up statewide. I’ve put in for one and have got plans to get my submission materials out for one later this month. I may be completely out of my league, but frankly I don’t care. I’m leading with my chin a bit, but the worst that can happen is that I get rejected. Eff it. I’m past worrying about that. As Agent J said, “Don’t start nothin’, don’t Be nothin'”.
So… that was a bit of a surprise. Two years ago this would never have crossed my mind.
The Not-So-Great thing I did led to a bit of self-discovery. That led to a bit of brainstorming and Hell, you know what that leads to.
Cheers,
R
It was time.
Like I said in my last post I’ve got a lot of work staring me in the face. It was time to get a good start and I have. I’ve spent nights digging through my photo archive (read as seriously huge arseload of pics) and searching photos online. I’ve also reached out to some fellow artists who’ve posted images of some of the cities I’m searching for. They have graciously given me permission to use their images should I need them. Old pics are one thing and someone else’s pics are another. Sometimes you just need to get out and get them yourself to be satisfied. Of the cities I need to represent Chicago is the closest to me both geographically and personally. So… I had to go.
At any rate… I think Chi Town can wrap this up well enough on it’s own. 
Ps: The man playing the clarinet is Kaliq Woods. He was brilliant.
I looked up today and realized that it’s been a month since my last post. I’ve been a little preoccupied you see. I just took another step in reconstructing what I perceive to Me. I’ve moved into a new place and shortly thereafter moved my studio as well. It’s been a busy 4 weeks since I moved in, but I’m incredibly happy about the way things have gone. I’ve made a concerted effort to stay optimistic throughout the process and have been very lucky to have had a lot of support from friends and family. Moving, as you all know, can really blow goats.
That being said I’ve taken it as an opportunity to restructure the way I do things. Due to financial constraints I’ve moved out of my space at Northland Studios. I will miss the atmosphere in that place, but I will miss the other Artists most of all. What moving means however is that I can go back to being able to paint when I have my boys AND when I don’t. I’d love to have them in the studio with me, but I’m not the kind of person that can paint with a lot of distractions. A little conversation is one thing if you’re in the right frame of mind, but little boys can be demanding of your attention and I don’t like to split time in that way. They should get my full attention so long as we’re together. One day they’ll have to take care of me and I don’t want them thinking, “Hey, he used to lock us in our rooms while he painted. Phil Spector style. What a dick… SlummyView Acres it is”.
Once I get the studio reassembled I’ll post some pics. Looking for an alternative to the chalkboard-paint wall. The new space doesn’t lend itself to that. If I could find one of those old slateboards like my Grandmother used to have that would kick ass. We’ll see.
I’ve recently become overwhelmed with new work and I’m wondering how I’ll do it all. I’ve been spending a lot of time simplifying and reorganizing. Re-acquiring my discipline. I let it go during the move, but now it’s time to get back on the horse and get moving. No time to be resting on imagined laurels. The fun stuff’s just starting and I’d better represent because this feels like a turning point and I’d better not eff it up.
Lastly… since I don’t have any new pics to post I thought I would take the opportunity to pimp a friend’s work. I recently acquired a piece from this amazingly talented artist. One of my first non-trade Art purchases. I just brought it home and can’t wait to get it framed and on the wall. I’ll let you guess which piece I got.
Without further ado I give you Larassa Kabel: One of Des Moines’ most skilled Artists. If you haven’t seen her work up close and in-person make it a point to add her next show to your calendar. Her level of prowess with pencils and oil paints will knock your proverbial socks off.
http://www.larassakabel.com/
Cheers,
R
Greetings and salutations
I justed wanted to post one last reminder about the “Submerged” exhibit at Instinct Gallery this Saturday from 6-10pm. If you haven’t been there before it’s in the Des Moines Social Club right across from the sculpture garden at 1408 Locust Ave. The show will feature the Art of John Bosley along with Luke Elliot and myself. Should be a pretty good exhibit. I’m anxious to see how it looks. They were hanging work on Monday and I was pretty happy about what I saw. Hope to see you there!
If, like most people, you weren’t up at 7:30 on July 4th you (and I) missed an installment of KCCI’s “In the Artist’s Studio” featuring little old me. I had a lot of fun doing the interview although the studio was unpleasantly hot that day and I was painting in my work clothes. Like most oil painters I wouldn’t dream of painting while wearing anything I actually wanted to keep clean. It was a good time and I enjoyed seeing the different camera shots that were taken. All in all a very good experience. Check it out here: http://www.kcci.com/video/24155503/index.html .
See you soon!
Cheers,
R
Greetings, True-Believers! Why “Pew Pew Pew!”? The show at RayGun was a real success. Get it? RayGun? it goes pew… oh forget it.
This has been a banner couple of weeks at the Reeves household.
First and foremost: my youngest son learned to tie his shoes. I’m extremely proud of him and take a lot of personal joy in his accomplishments. Especially the little things. I mean how far can you get if you don’t learn how to tie knots? I know. I know. “Velcro”, you say but c’mon.
Secondly I got to spend an evening in the company of some great people by way of my solo show, “Finding a Place to Stand” at RayGun last Saturday. We had a lot of people through and I, for one, had a great time getting to chat with friends and getting acquainted with a few new ones. My friend, Michael’s bacon-chocolate cookies were so good they very nearly brought one person to tears. Ah, the power of bacon. Thank you, sir. Thanks to everyone for coming. Maybe you only stayed because of the brief, but torrential rain, but I’ll take it.
I’m happy to say there are a number of other things going on, but I won’t go into them at this point with the exception of one. A group of local artists are designing large recyclables containers for the Des Moines Arts Festival. We were each tasked with coming up with a design and then creating it from found or donated materials. I work with a lot of software in my day job. A lot of useless, excessively-distributed software. CDs are like shiny, round cockroaches. They turn up on your desk. In your drawers… So with the help of a number of generous people I’m going to try to turn them into something new. I have a lot of CDs to shuck (ie: remove from the little, paper sleeves). Then I’m going to find a way to wholesale smash or shred them. I’ve got a few options. If you’ve got any suggestions I’d love to hear them.
Cheers,
R
I was up working on some pieces for the show at RayGun opening next Friday and I was struggling. I’d been given a very helpful critique and was trying to work through some problem areas, but I just kept missing the mark. I often take pics of my work in progress to help give me some perspective. Taking a step back only does so much. When that happened I was suddenly able to realize the solution to my problem. It was a little awkward at first, but the results were surprising. I’m not sure if working through my phone’s view screen is a good solution, but it was a bit of a revelation at the time. Then again it’s amazing what can become a revelation at 1:30am when you’ve got to wake up for the day job at 5:45am.
Cheers,
R
Let’s say I’ve been a little preoccupied lately. I’m pretty sure the days are getting shorter. I know that’s contrary to common logic, but I’ve been keeping track. I swear.
I’m proud to say I have a solo show coming up next month at RayGun here in little ol’ Des Moines and I’d be knocked out several times if you would join me with Des Moines’ best and brightest. The sexy and savvy. The willing to come and grace RayGun and myself with your presence… You can nibble, mingle, look at Art, shop for clothes that say funny things about living in Iowa. You can shop for Art too.
In all seriousness I would love to see you there. I’ve been working on some new charcoal pieces as well as a couple new paintings. I’ll be burning some midnight oil to get ready, but I’m looking forward to it. Doing the charcoals has necessitated some changes to the way I work. I’ve enjoyed the immediacy. My sinuses aren’t so crazy about it, but they’ll have to deal. I like the way they’ve been working for me. I’m still looking for the perfect paper.
Also still looking for some suggestions.
Saturday, June 5th from 4pm – 7pm
RayGun
400 East Locust
Des Moines, IA
50309
See you on the 5th!
Cheers,
R
Finished! Sorry for the grainy image. Had to bring it up to my living room to get a halfway decent shot.
Robert Reeves: Oil & Dust 